The Minnesota Independent
 |
|
|
Type of site
|
Online magazine |
|---|---|
| Owner | American Independent News Network |
| Created by | American Independent News Network |
| Website | www.minnesotaindependent.com |
| Alexa rank |
 10,818,398 (March 2014[update]) |
| Commercial | No |
| Registration | To Add Comments |
| Launched | August 2006; shut down in November 2011 |
| Current status | Inactive |
The Minnesota Independent, formerly Minnesota Monitor, and sometimes known as MnIndy, was an independent online news website. It launched in August 2006, with a focus on coverage of political issues. The website was funded by the American Independent News Network. The website was closed down in 2011.
Minnesota Independent was staffed by both salaried reporters and paid fellows who received a stipend for their writing contributions. The initial pool of writers included a number of journalists and liberal Minnesota bloggers, including original site editor Robin Marty, Somali journalist Abdi Ayne, Joe Bodell and others. Later, the site brought on board professional journalists, such as Eric Black, who had written for the Star Tribune, and former City Pages writers Paul Demko and Molly Priesmeyer.
The site was edited by Paul Schmelzer, and received about 150,000 unique visitors per month. Traffic surpassed 250,000 in the month preceding the 2008 U.S. elections and surpassed 260,000 unique monthly visits in April 2009. A week after election day, the Center for Independent Media cut funding for two of six full-time staff members, Andy Birkey and Molly Priesmeyer, and for the entire freelance staff. Birkey has since been hired back, and a freelance budget, albeit smaller, was reinstated.
Minnesota Independent broke a number of stories. During the Keith Ellison Qur'an oath controversy, the Independent's Abdi Aynte reported that Keith Ellison would not change his mind about being sworn in on the Qur'an. The Independent was the first to report that Living Word Christian Center may have violated IRS guidelines during a speech at the Church by Michele Bachmann. The story resulted in an ethical complaint being filed by CREW against the church.
...
Wikipedia